alex speier

The Details: Execution Was a Difference-Maker For the Red Sox in Game 1

ANAHEIM—For years, the Angels and Red Sox have been presented as a study in contrasts. The teams seemed to represent stark philosophical differences in the Division Series in 2004 and again in 2007.

In both seasons, the prevailing assumption was that Boston would try to bash its way into the Championship Series, and the Angels would rely on fundamentals and traditional offense (bunts, hit and runs, etc.) to advance.

Game 1 of the 2008 Division Series between the two teams was indeed reduced, in many ways, to a conversation about fundamentals and execution. But in a striking reversal, the Sox, after claiming a 4-1 victory, were the ones who were most enthusiastically spreading the gospel of precision.

“It’s a proven formula. If you don’t hurt yourself, you’re putting yourself in a good position,” agreed third baseman Mike Lowell. “It makes the other team earn their runs, which is big. If you start giving runs away because you’re making errors, I think that puts a lot of pressure on the pitcher and probably does things that don’t bode well for us.”

That notion was reinforced early in the game. In the third inning, before Sox starter Jon Lester had locked into his dominant form, the Angels had a runner on first and two outs with Vladimir Guerrero at the plate.

Guerrero hit a bounder to shortstop Jed Lowrie. But after having been flawless in his first 49 big-league games at short, Lowrie had the ball bounce out of his glove.

The inning was extended, and the Angels quickly capitalized. A Torii Hunter single gave the Halos a 1-0 lead, and the Sox—particularly Lowrie—were left to wonder whether a kicked ball might cost them the series opener.

“We give ‘em an extra out and they scored,” said Sox manager Terry Francona. “That’s the type of team they are. They’re always going to be aggressive. When the ball doesn’t end up where it’s supposed to, they score.”

But Lowrie was left to breathe a sigh of relief after Jason Bay’s two-run homer in the top of the sixth. The 2-1 lead would never be challenged, in large part because of excellent glove work by the Sox in the bottom of the eighth.

Justin Masterson had come on in relief of Lester. He would leave behind his first inning of postseason work without permitting a run, something for which he was grateful to his teammates.

“Wonderful defense. I always say I’m as good as my defense is,” said Masterson. “Guys made some great plays to get out of that inning.”

Mark Teixeira, leading off the eighth for the Angels, hit a shallow pop to center. Jacoby Ellsbury was playing deep against the power hitter, and had to cover an enormous span of ground before laying out for a sprawling catch.

“It looked like he had no chance,” said manager Terry Francona. “I thought it was in no man’s land.”

“At that point in the game we were up by a run with the meat of the order coming in,” said Bay. “He comes in and closes down that ball. It could have been a different story. That was awesome.”

After Guerrero singled to left with one out, Torii Hunter blooped a pop-up just past the infield dirt and down the right field line. Sox first baseman Kevin Youkilis tracked it and dove to make a play, but could not come up with the over-the-shoulder catch.

“I wish I had just caught the ball. That would have made it a lot easier,” shrugged Youkilis.

He did, however, pop up quickly and discovered that Guerrero was rounding second and—to the surprise of many—heading for third, apparently convinced that the ball had bounced further into right. Youkilis picked up the ball and fired it back into the infield to third baseman Mike Lowell.

Though Lowell’s mobility has been severely limited by a tear of the labrum in his hip, he caught the ball and managed to run a couple steps to tag out Guerrero for the second out of the inning.

“I think Vladi just gambled. If you’re on third, it’s a great play. If it doesn’t work out, there will be some second guessing,” Lowell said. “Kinda weird. I was hoping (Youkilis) would catch the ball. I just saw Vladi take off. I didn’t even think he was going to third.

“Youk’s throw was actually off-line. It worked perfect. (Shortstop) Jed (Lowrie) didn’t cut it, I was standing right there and he was out by a mile. I think it was a big play…Without that play, it’s first and third, one out. So I think it kind of changes the scope of the game.”

Though Lowell is struggling physically–he had aggravated his hip on a check swing in the top of the eighth–he was resolute about recording the out.

“I know I’m limited,” he said. “But I would have tackled Vladi if I had to.”

That proved unnecessary. The throw allowed Lowell to shuffle into the base path in plenty of time to tag out Guerrero.

The Angels, who trailed by a single run at the time, were left to wonder what might have been.

“You never know what that inning is going to become,” said Angels manager Mike Scoscia. “Vlad is aggressive. It was a tough read. (The ball) was behind him and I thought he thought the ball was a little further out than it was. And give Youkilis credit. He maintained his composure, got the hop and made a good throw to third base.”

But the Tom Emanski demonstration did not end there for the Sox. Their 2-1 lead intact, they added on with a little ball attack in the top of the ninth.

Lowrie led off with a single against Scot Shields, and then advanced to second on a perfect sac bunt by Jason Varitek. The strategy worked to perfection, as Ellsbury followed by shooting a single into right for an insurance run.

Ellsbury then kept the peddle down, stealing second and, after a Dustin Pedroia groundout, scoring on a David Ortiz 17-hopper that somehow navigated its way into right field.

The Sox took a 4-1 lead into the bottom of the ninth, their breathing room achieved in a fashion that would delight baseball traditionalists. The team recognizes that, to keep winning and to continue its pursuit of a third World Series in six years, it will need to continue to win the battle of the details.

“You know you’re going against everybody’s top two or three guys and you know you’re not going to get a lot of runs,” said Bay. “Every base runner, every base you take, every little thing matters. It does the entire season, but it gets magnified at this point because there is no, ‘Oh, geez—we’ll get ‘em tomorrow.’ There might not be a tomorrow, so the onus on every bunt, on every throw, on everything is magnified.”

“Execution is the name of the game in the playoffs,” said Lowrie. “It’s the difference in the games. It shows.”

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